Some college advice

[ggibson913]

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Hey guys, I am currently a happy iMac owner. The system meets all of my needs currently (core i3). I am going back to school for my degree and am going to need a laptop. I have two options that I can see. The first is to keep my iMac and supplement with a MacBook Air. The second and cheaper option is to purchase a refurb pro and sell the iMac (of course use iMac $$ to help pay for pro). It should be an easy decision but somehow having a problem making it. The sticking point is I also do amateur photography and love the screen real estate that gorgeous 21.5 inch monitor gives me. Any encouragement would be helpful.

 

[Christopher387A]

Why not get an MBP and an external display? Best of both worlds.

 

[mr.steevo]

Do you need a laptop at school or do you just want one?

If it is a need then that will dictate the specs you'll need to complete your courses.

If it's a want then... whatever you want.

 

[xxBURT0Nxx]

why do you need a laptop for school? Just wondering because most people only need the "portability" to take notes in class, but in most cases a laptop in class is more of a distraction than anything.

 

[ggibson913]

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Going to school as an adult who travels on occasion for work

 

[xxBURT0Nxx]

is money tight? If you can afford an Air fairly easily just buy that. If not maybe look at selling the iMac and getting a mbp or mba and possibly an external monitor for at home.

13" mbp's and mba's performance is not a huge difference so i'd base that decision on if you a) need an optical disc drive b) if the smaller storage capacities of the air will be an issue and c) if portability is an issue for you.

 

[Sirolway]

FWIW, and I'm not sure this is entirely relevant, but whatever you do you might want to stick to a single computer - I lived with 2 for a while (laptop & iMac) & I was forever finding that the files I wanted were on 'the other one'

So I too would vote for a MBA/MBP + external screen. The Apple screens are scary expensive, but there are plenty of cheaper options

I have a 2009 13" MBP & it still feels 'like new' to me - it's just fantastic. A big screen would be nice, but haven't bitten the bullet yet..

If you're going back to uni you could go fashionably retro & pick up a refurb white poly ...

 

[xxBURT0Nxx]

^^ well you can make free dropbox accounts and all iCloud accounts come with 5gb of storage so it's much easier to keep files in sync between as many devices as you wish now a days. Certainly you probably won't have your whole hard drive available in the cloud, but as long as you aren't working with media files 5gb should be plenty to keep all of your school notes, reports, and documents in the cloud.

 

[NutsNGum]

Supplement with the 11" and you'll probably end up getting rid of the iMac! (If you get another monitor)

 

[ggibson913]

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I am think refurb mbp with external monitor.

 

[ggibson913]

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Thanks guys gonna do the refurb MacBook pro with external monitor. Good idea.